"I'm still stuck on that girl... Why was she so scared, when I asked if we met before, and why did she just run out of the library like that?" I wondered as we walked back into the apartment.
"I don't know... Maybe she was a seer, and saw something scary in a vision right then?" Erik replied, equally as puzzled.
"Maybe, but aren't seers usually men, and why would I have triggered a vision that scared her that bad? Is that possible?"
"I... don't know. She might be special. I think women can be seers, and seers can have triggers, but it's rare. Like super rare. By the way, while we are on the subject or rare, how do you like your meat cooked? I'm thinking of making a pork tenderloin this weekend."
"Is food the only thing you ever think about?" I said laughing, "You should also know how I like my meat cooked. You've known me for 16 years."
"My memory has been failing me, you'll have to remind me." Erik joked, earning him a punch in the arm. He just laughed harder, and pulled me towards him, and hugged me. Our laughing slowed and we just kind of stood there hugging for a while, both knowing that the other didn't want to let go, and we were O.K. with that. We all need a hug sometimes, whether we know it or not.
"We should probably get started on homework..." I said reluctantly.
"Hmm.. We have all weekend. We can do it later. This is nice." Erik said, almost sleepily.
I gently pulled away, and walked us over to the sofa, and curled up next to him, and fell asleep on him once again. He wrapped his arms around me, and he fell asleep too. I woke up a few hours later, and saw that Erik was still sleeping. I gently kissed his forehead, and slipped off to the kitchen to make a late dinner. Fifteen minutes later, Erik woke up, and I had just finished food, so I took a plate of pasta and meat sauce over to him, and we both ate in silence. We finished and Erik looked at me, and asked,
"Did you kiss me?"
After a pause I set my plate down and replied,
"Yeah... Sorry."
"I didn't say I wasn't ok with it." Erik smirked.
"Oh? Well then, would you be ok with me doing this?" I leaned forward and lightly brushed my lips against his. He set his plate to the side, and pulled me closer, deepening the kiss. His lips were warm, and soft. He was gentle, but passionate, as one arm slid around my waist, and his other hand cupped my face. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned further into him. His strong arms held me tight against him, and I melted into his embrace. It dawned on me that all the years when I had a strange need to hug him for hours, when I got jealous when he spoke to another girl, when I missed him if he left the room for a moment, it was all because I loved him. My best friend of 16 years was also my secret crush. A crush that was secret to even myself. That didn't matter to me now, because I was kissing him and I never wanted to stop.
~Later~
I had curled up in my bed under the warm covers and rolled over onto my side where Erik was asleep. After dinner and "discovering hidden love" on the sofa, we realized it was late, and both climbed into my bed, and fell asleep. I had stared at the ceiling for a while, after being woken up by that haunting voice, yet again. I couldn't understand what the person meant.
"Go to the clearest place you can see...and come to find me... What does that mean?" I whispered into the night, watching Erik sleep beside me.
'Go to the clearest place you can see, and come to find me'
The voice whispered again. Suddenly, I jolted up in bed. It was her! Aysh! It was her voice that I was hearing in my head! The only question was, how? I crept over to the window, praying to the Gods I didn't wake Erik with my sudden jump. Looking out into the dark night, I saw a small figure on the mountain top far outside my window. A toothpick arm waved, and the figure disappeared over the mountain, but not before I heard Aysh's voice echo in my head,
'Finally, you see, now follow, and come find what you seek, with me'
I dashed back over to the bed, and shook Erik awake. I was already running about my room, putting on my black suit, and grabbing various items, by the time he woke up.
"What... What are you doing? Go back to bed, it's Saturday." Erik mumbled sleepily.
"The voice changed. It was Aysh speaking. I just saw her and she said we need to follow her, so get up and go get dressed. We are leaving. Now."
That seemed to wake him up.